Chapter 122: The Consequences of Her Choices

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: The Consequences of Her Choices

~Third- POV~

"I just want my husband back," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Is there anything I can do to win him back?"

Chloe looked at her for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Eva, listen to me carefully." She leaned closer, her expression serious. "You need to understand that Frederick isn’t the man you left behind anymore. You can’t expect him to take you back simply because you’ve finally realized what you lost."

Eva looked up at her through bloodshot eyes, tears spilling down her pale cheeks. "Are you... are you saying I should just let go of him?"

"If you can, Eva, yes," Chloe replied. "Frederick has already made his choice. And you know better than anyone that when Frederick falls in love, he loves deeply and completely. I’m saying this for your own good. I don’t want to see you destroy your mental health and lose your self-respect fighting a losing battle."

"No!" Eva sobbed, shaking her head. "There’s no way I can let that boy take my man! He’s just a child—a boy who has nothing to offer Frederick! What does he have that I don’t? Why would Frederick choose him over me?"

Chloe reached out and rested a gentle hand on Eva’s knee. "Sometimes, Eva, it’s not about what someone can offer us materially. It’s about the peace of mind, comfort, and happiness we feel when they’re around. That boy gives Frederick a kind of peace you never cared to give him."

"I can’t just lose Frederick..." Eva wept, clutching Chloe’s sleeve desperately. "Chloe, please... can you ask your husband to talk to him for me? He and Frederick are close. Frederick will listen to him!"

Chloe sighed and shook her head. "No, Eva. My husband won’t interfere in this. He tried to talk to you so many times before things got to this point. He warned you, and I warned you, too, but you refused to listen. He won’t get involved now, and I won’t ask him to."

Eva buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as fresh sobs wracked her body. Eventually, she lowered her hands into her lap and stared blankly at the floor.

That was when Chloe noticed Eva’s left hand. The skin around her palm was raw, red, and swollen, with a deep cut across it.

Chloe gasped and reached for her hand. "Wait... Eva, did you cut yourself?"

Eva glanced down at it, barely seeming to notice the injury through the pain in her chest. "I got hurt earlier at his office," she murmured. "I had a bandage on it before I came home, but I got it wet in the shower. It started irritating me, so I took it off. I just... didn’t have the strength to put on another one."

"Eva, you can’t leave an open wound like this untreated!" Chloe said, her brows drawing together with concern. "It could get infected. You need to take care of yourself."

"I don’t care about a stupid cut!" Eva cried, pulling her hand away as tears streamed down her face. "All I care about is getting my man back! How do I fix this?!"

"You might not care, but I care about you," Chloe replied gently.

Without arguing further, she stood up and called toward the hallway. "Housekeeper! Please bring the first-aid kit right away!"

"Right away, ma’am!" the housekeeper called back.

A few minutes later, the housekeeper hurried into the dimly lit living room carrying a well-stocked first-aid kit. She placed it on the table, bowed slightly, and stepped back.

Chloe knelt on the carpet in front of Eva and opened the kit. She took out some disinfectant, antiseptic ointment, and sterile gauze. Then, carefully holding Eva’s trembling hand, she dampened a cotton pad with the disinfectant.

Eva flinched when it touched the raw wound, wincing at the sting. Still, her eyes stayed distant, her mind consumed by regret over Frederick.

As Chloe gently cleaned the cut, she looked up at her friend.

"That’s enough, Eva. You need to stop crying over him. I warned you years ago that Frederick wouldn’t chase after you forever."

"Chloe..."

"You never listened to me," Chloe continued, her tone firm but concerned as she applied the ointment. "You always said, ’Frederick will never leave me. He’ll never stop chasing me, if not for anything else, then for our daughter’s sake.’ You were so sure his devotion would never end. You believed you could walk away whenever you wanted and return whenever you pleased, because he would always be waiting for you. But look where that thinking has brought you."

Eva swallowed hard as another tear rolled down her cheek. Chloe wrapped sterile gauze around her palm, securing it with medical tape.

Once she had finished bandaging the wound, Chloe gently took Eva’s hands in hers and looked directly into her eyes.

"Instead of wasting your energy crying over a man who has moved on, listen to me," she urged. "If I were you, I’d stop trying to force my way back into Frederick’s life and start finding a way to reconnect with my daughter."

Eva blinked, her lips parting slightly. "Lily...?"

"Yes, Lily," Chloe replied gently. "You may have lost your place in Frederick’s life, but Lily is still your daughter. If you don’t try to make things right with her now, if you don’t apologize for leaving her all those years ago and show her that you genuinely want to be her mother, you might lose her for good."

Chloe gave her friend’s bandaged hand a gentle squeeze.

"Leave Frederick alone, Eva. He has moved on, and he’s happy. I’m not telling you to reconnect with Lily just to get back at Frederick or use her to get close to him. If you do that, she’ll only resent you. Be a mother to her because she’s your daughter and she deserves your love. Focus on building a genuine relationship with her, without expecting anything in return. It won’t be easy, and it may hurt, but if you’re willing to change and become a better person and a good mother, you may eventually find your own happiness and peace."

Silence settled over the mansion.

Eva looked down at her neatly bandaged hand, then raised her eyes to meet Chloe’s. For the first time, she seemed to understand how much damage her pride, bitterness, and stubbornness had caused.

"I regret everything, Chloe..." Eva whispered, her voice breaking. "I ruined everything with my own hands..."

"I know you do," Chloe murmured, pulling her into a comforting embrace. "But it’s time to let Frederick go, Eva. Focus on your daughter now."

Eva buried her face in Chloe’s shoulder and wept quietly. After a while, she pulled back, her tear-filled eyes clouded with sudden fear.

"Do you... do you think Lily will ever accept me as her mother?" she whispered. "What if she hates me, Chloe? What if she resents me for everything I’ve done?"

Fresh tears rolled down Eva’s cheeks as she clutched Chloe’s hands.

"I can’t lose Frederick’s love and my daughter’s love, too," she sobbed. "I can’t... I really can’t lose both. If there’s anything left for me to fix, I want to make things right with Lily. I just want my daughter back..."

Chloe looked at her, her expression softening. Despite Eva’s flaws, pride, and terrible mistakes, she knew that Eva did love her daughter, even if she had failed to show it in the ways that mattered. She wasn’t entirely heartless, no matter what others thought of her.

"Listen to me, Eva," Chloe said softly, cupping her tear-stained face and gently lifting her chin so they could look at each other. "If you’re truly ready to reconnect with Lily, I’ll help you. I know you love her, even if your actions haven’t always shown it. And I know you’re not heartless."

Eva blinked, holding her breath.

"I actually know which country Lily’s studying in," Chloe revealed gently. "I even know the exact university she attends."

The moment Chloe said this, Eva gasped and grabbed her hand desperately, a flicker of hope replacing her despair.

"Where?!" she demanded. "Where is she, Chloe? Can we book a flight right now? We can leave tomorrow morning!"

"No, Eva," Chloe said firmly, catching her by the wrists before she could get up from the floor. "Absolutely not."

Eva’s face fell, confusion and desperation clouding her features. "Why? You just said you know where she is!"